| ‘The ground is shifting’: Arizona emerges as a 2020 trouble spot for Trump Posted: 18 Sep 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Democrats appear to have their best shot at capturing the state since Bill Clinton won it more than two decades ago.
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| Michelle Malkin Smears Cokie Roberts on the Day of Her Death: ‘One of the First Guilty Culprits of Fake News’ Posted: 18 Sep 2019 12:44 AM PDT  Charley Gallay/Getty for International Innovators of Justice/American Justice AllianceHours after the world learned that journalist Cokie Roberts had passed away following complications from breast cancer, right-wing provocateur Michelle Malkin took a swipe at the reporter's legacy by calling her "one of the first guilty culprits of fake news."Taking part in a panel at the Paley Center on Tuesday, Malkin joined an array of liberal and conservative commentators and media figures to discuss whether the media is biased.At one point in the discussion, Malkin—who has recently been making the media rounds hawking her latest anti-immigrant book—took aim at Roberts."Cokie Roberts, of course, passed away today and God bless her for an incredible career that she had but I distinctly remember that she was one of the first guilty culprits of fake news," she declared."We're doing this today?" CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, who was also on the panel, interjected."Yes, yes we are," Malkin confirmed."You're attacking her today," Stelter continued. "I just want to be clear: The body isn't even cold yet."Malkin, meanwhile, said her remark was "pertinent" to the issue of "fake news," bringing up an instance in 1994 when Roberts stood in front of a projection of the Capitol to do an ABC News report from the State of the Union address."This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the viewing public into thinking she was actually there live covering it," Malkin added. "Fake news has existed far longer than before President Trump even had the idea of running for office."Malkin's remarks, predictably, were not well received by the attendees, with many in the audience shouting at her to leave and go home. Tuesday was far from the first time that Malkin has kicked dirt on a prominent figure after he or she has passed away. During this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, Malkin slammed the "ghost of John McCain" for what she described as his weak immigration policies.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| A 22-year-old from Minneapolis who is jailed in Syria says ISIS recruited him on Twitter Posted: 18 Sep 2019 08:10 AM PDT  Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, a naturalized US citizen, told CBS News his story from a prison in Syria, run by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
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| Sheriff indicted for plotting to kill deputy who had tape of his 'racially offensive' remarks Posted: 17 Sep 2019 11:57 AM PDT  A North Carolina sheriff was indicted for obstruction of justice for allegedly plotting to kill one of his deputies.
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| What Were the Mach 10 UFOs That Iran's Jets Encountered? Posted: 17 Sep 2019 07:00 PM PDT  Does the U.S. have a super-secret spy plane?
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| Nigerian women protest over apparent serial killings Posted: 18 Sep 2019 09:35 AM PDT ![Nigerian women protest over apparent serial killings]( "Nigerian women protest over apparent serial killings") Women in southern Nigeria marched in the streets on Wednesday to protest the deaths of several women in hotel rooms by what appears to be a serial killer. "Their killers must be found," the women chanted, many dressed in black for mourning, during the second day of protests in the city of Port Harcourt in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. Eight women have been strangled in hotel rooms in Rivers State in the past two months, police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni said.
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| 2019 and 2020 Full-Size Pickup Truck Rankings Posted: 17 Sep 2019 02:08 PM PDT |
| Philippines Arrests Hundreds of Chinese For Alleged Cybercrimes Posted: 17 Sep 2019 03:33 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- About 600 allegedly illegal Chinese workers have been arrested in the Philippines in less than a week after Beijing's call for a crackdown on online gambling.Some 324 undocumented Chinese nationals will be deported after being apprehended on Monday in the western Palawan province for alleged cybercrimes, the Philippines' immigration bureau said in a statement Tuesday.The agency also said in an earlier statement it had arrested 277 Chinese nationals last Wednesday for allegedly conducting illegal online operations in Pasig City in the Philippine capital, Manila. Those arrested are wanted for fraud and investments scams in China, the immigration bureau added, citing information from Chinese authorities.Last month, China urged the Philippines to crack down on online casino operations catering mostly to Chinese nationals. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will not ban the billion-peso industry despite Beijing's opposition, as it benefits the Southeast Asian nation.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Ruth Pollard, Ditas LopezFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 2020 Vision Wednesday: Trump raised $15 million in California in one day. That should worry Democrats. Posted: 18 Sep 2019 06:10 AM PDT  When President Trump arrived in California Tuesday, Democrats saw his arrival as a platform for protest, but there's another reason his visit should concern them.
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| Israel's Election Has Ended in Deadlock. Here's What Could Happen Next Posted: 18 Sep 2019 01:06 PM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an uncertain future and as the official count started coming in, no side emerged with a clear path to government
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| How Vietnamese Commandos Sank A U.S. 'Aircraft Carrier' Posted: 18 Sep 2019 07:43 AM PDT  The sinking of the Card was a stunning victory for the Viet Cong, yet little remembered today. It illustrated how vulnerable naval vessels can be even when faced with a low-tech enemy … and how difficult maintaining port security can be in a war with no real front.
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| Cash-starved Air India putting crews on low-fat diet Posted: 18 Sep 2019 04:57 AM PDT  Cash-starved Air India is putting its crew on a diet, changing their inflight menu to special low-fat meals. Dhananjay Kumar, the state-run airline's spokesman, said Wednesday that the objective is to provide healthy and cost-effective meals to crews on domestic and international flights. Kumar declined comment on media reports that the cost per meal, mostly vegetarian, will fall to one-third of the current 500-800 rupees (up to $11) per meal.
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| Dozens of people charged for illegally distributing millions of opioid pills Posted: 18 Sep 2019 01:38 PM PDT  Dozens of people - including six doctors and seven pharmacists - have been charged with fraud for illegally distributing more than 6 million opioid pills.Some of the pills were obtained using counterfeit prescription pads, and the stolen identities of legitimate doctors, prosecutors say.
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| Drone delivers shark warning to surfer Posted: 17 Sep 2019 04:29 PM PDT 
A surfer enjoying the pristine waters off Australia's east coast Sunday didn't see the large shark beneath the surface, but a nearby drone operator did. UPSOUND: SHARK, SHARK, SHARK... Using a search and rescue drone equipped with infra-red thermal imaging and a warning speaker system, amateur drone pilot Christopher Joye captured the moment the shark approached. Joye says he blasted the alert, causing the surfer to quickly turn toward shore. That's when the shark headed to deeper waters. Joye, who is also a fund manager, has previously run shark patrols on Australian beaches as part of a campaign to keep swimmers safe using drones, which he believes work better than shark nets.
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| Judge resigns after sharing noose image with 'Make America Great Again' slogan on Facebook Posted: 18 Sep 2019 08:09 AM PDT  A New York town judge was forced off the bench after a written complaint said his post appeared 'to convey racial and/or political bias.'
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| Filipino coastguards convicted of killing Taiwanese fisherman Posted: 17 Sep 2019 11:36 PM PDT  Coastguard sailors who opened fire on a Taiwanese fisherman in Philippine waters were convicted Wednesday of his 2013 killing, which strained ties between the historically friendly neighbours. The eight Filipino crewmen said they had shot in self-defence after the fisherman's vessel sailed directly at them in the seas just north of the main Philippine island of Luzon. "We are filing a notice of appeal so that what we perceived as errors of the trial court will be thrashed out," Paul Jomar Alcudia, one of the lawyers of the officers, told AFP.
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| The latest Iran-Saudi flare-up exposes Trump's bankrupt Middle East policy Posted: 18 Sep 2019 06:08 AM PDT  End support for the war in Yemen, change the relationship with Saudi Arabia, and talk to Iran – the answers for the US are clear 'While there is growing support to completely change America's Middle East policy US policy remains stuck in a rut.' Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/ReutersThe fact that the United States is up in arms over an attack with no reported casualties on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia – while at the same time supporting Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands – tells us everything we need to know about how messed up US priorities in the Middle East are.If anything, the latest round of tensions between the US, Iran and Saudi Arabia – and the debate over whether or not to retaliate militarily against Iran – illustrates the many ways US policy in the region is bankrupt, and how Trump crafts US policy based on the interests of other countries, not America.The years-long struggle for regional influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia and their partners plays out in proxy wars that rip the region apart, such as the current humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. The US has taken Saudi Arabia's side in this regional conflict, in which there is no "good side", and in the process only exacerbated the tensions and violence.Iran is a bad actor, and the United States already takes serious steps to curb its support for terrorism, and to defend Israel. But Trump is making the threat worse by ending the Iran nuclear deal and provoking Iran. We now find ourselves in yet another edition of Trump's deadly reality show: will he or won't he strike?! Will he or won't he risk the lives of American soldiers in an unnecessary war?! Or will he try to manufacture another photo-op summit that does nothing but mask the real problems?! Tune into Twitter to find out! Like everything he touches, Trump has turned America's Iran policy into a farce, while increasing the likelihood of tragedy.Saudi Arabia, America's longtime supposed partner, is also a bad actor. For too long America has stomached Saudi Arabia's support for extremist ideologies, destabilizing policies, and repression at home. But Trump takes it to an extreme by seemingly outsourcing US policy to Riyadh. After the recent attacks, Trump literally said: "We are waiting to hear from the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed."Jared Kushner must have done a facepalm – it's supposed to be secret when Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, sends his orders over WhatsApp! Trump summed up why he always sides with Riyadh, even after the Saudi leader ordered the murder of the US journalist Jamal Khashoggi: "Saudi Arabia pays cash."One of the most devastating results of US policy has been the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. Because Saudi Arabia entered the war on one side, while Iran supports the other, the United States has blindly followed Saudi Arabia in fueling this conflict that is starving children and killing innocent civilians. The conflict has taken the lives of at least tens of thousands of people, and a United Nations panel recently said that all sides might be committing war crimes.Israel – and Trump's relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu – is at the center of this as well. Israel is a close and important ally, but Trump and Netanyahu have personalized, politicized and radicalized the US-Israeli relationship. While Trump attempts to use the relationship as a political wedge by falsely painting his opponents as enemies of Israel, Netanyahu pushes for conflict with Iran and takes steps that make peace with Palestinians all but impossible – steps that Trump openly supports. The two feed off each other and support one another's agendas, which are bad for the relationship and bad for the region.Since the end of the cold war, US policy in the region has been driven by numerous considerations: countering Iran, fighting terrorism, supporting stability, protecting oil markets and defending Israel. While aspects of these policies were faulty long before this administration, today things are very different. Fossil fuels are destroying life in earth. Actions taken in the name of countering Iran often feed instability. Trump has warped our partnership with Israel into blind support for a self-destructive Israeli government.In partnering with autocrats to fight terrorism the United States has sacrificed other priorities. The Arab spring, the war in Syria, and myriad other calamities have illustrated how tyranny in the region is undermining – not supporting – stability. And now, ties between Saudi officials and businesses and the Trump family raise serious questions about whether Trump's Middle East policies are being driven in part by efforts to line his own pockets.Whatever happens in response to this latest flare-up, the answers for the United States are clear: end support for the war in Yemen. Fundamentally change the relationship with Saudi Arabia. Talk to Iran about the entire range of concerns. Bring the sparring sides together to reduce regional tensions. Stop giving Netanyahu a blank check and return support for Israel to the principles of supporting democracy and a two-state solution. And stop supporting autocrats and start supporting the people.While there is growing support to completely change America's Middle East policy – evidenced by the bills ending US support for the Yemen war that passed Congress – US policy remains stuck in a rut: Trump vetoed these congressional attempts to end support for the Yemen war and every time tensions spike, too many voices on both sides of the aisle respond with the kneejerk reaction of considering military action against Iran.If America is going to make big changes to shore up the capacity of US leadership to tackle the biggest challenges it faces, one of the first orders of business will be to fix America's bankrupt Middle East policy. Now would be a good time to start. * Michael H Fuchs is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and a former deputy assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs
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| Navy SEAL who oversaw the bin Laden raid says China's massive military buildup is a 'holy s---' moment Posted: 18 Sep 2019 12:51 PM PDT  Speaking at an event in Washington, William McRaven, a SEAL who oversaw the bin Laden raid, said the US was approaching a "Sputnik moment" with China.
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| Afghan president sees his chance after collapse of U.S.-Taliban talks Posted: 17 Sep 2019 06:33 PM PDT  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had no more than 20 minutes to study a draft accord between the United States and the Taliban on pulling thousands of U.S. troops out of his country, but upcoming elections could put him back at the heart of talks to end decades of war. What he read in the draft outlining the now collapsed deal left Ghani and his officials - who were shut out of the talks by the Taliban refusal to negotiate with what they considered an illegitimate "puppet" regime - badly shaken and resentful, said a senior Kabul official close to the Afghan leader. "Doesn't this look like surrender to the Taliban?" Ghani asked Zalmay Khalilzad, the veteran Afghan-born diplomat who led negotiations for Washington, at a meeting the two held immediately afterwards, according to the source who was present.
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| Here Are the 5 Biggest Nuclear Weapons Tests Ever Conducted Posted: 18 Sep 2019 03:42 AM PDT  We've got them ranked.
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| Police: Pirates' Vázquez attempted to have sex with minor Posted: 18 Sep 2019 01:09 PM PDT  Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vázquez was being held Wednesday in a Pennsylvania jail on multiple felony charges after allegedly telling investigators he attempted to have sex with an underage girl during a meeting at her house in 2017. Vázquez is charged with statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person under 16 years old. The charges are related to Vázquez's alleged encounters with a girl starting in 2017, when she was 13 and living about an hour east of downtown Pittsburgh.
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| Three hunters mauled in grizzly bear attacks at Yellowstone: 'He was in their face before they even had chance to grab a gun' Posted: 18 Sep 2019 02:37 PM PDT  Three hunters were badly hurt in two separate grizzly bear attacks in Montana on the same day, state officials have said.All three suffered "moderate to severe" injuries after being mauled by a lone bear in the Gravelley Mountains on Monday, according to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency.
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| View Photos of Porsche's 911 RSR in Coke Livery Posted: 18 Sep 2019 11:39 AM PDT |
| Stephen Colbert Desperately Tries to Get Elizabeth Warren to Bad-Mouth Joe Biden Posted: 17 Sep 2019 09:37 PM PDT  CBSBefore she sat down with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night, the mere mention of Elizabeth Warren's name during The Late Show host's monologue drew loud applause from the live audience. That enthusiasm only continued when the senator and 2020 presidential candidate joined Colbert at his desk moments later. "Why don't we just quit now and do a selfie line?" she joked. But Colbert wanted to talk about more than just selfies. And he began by asking about a specific line from her massive rally the night before in New York City's Washington Square Park. "There's a lot at stake in this election, and I know people are scared," Warren told the crowd of 20,000. "But we can't choose a candidate we don't believe in just because we're too scared to do anything else. And Democrats can't win if we're scared and looking backward."Asked by the host if that was a "veiled shot" at her 2020 rival Joe Biden, Warren said, "No, the way I see this, is these really are scary times. It's scary times because Donald Trump is truly a terrible president. Not just bad, terrible." Colbert pushed further on this point though, saying, "People are seeing you refer to Biden in that because when things do get scary—and it is a scary time—people run to the familiar, they run to the safe, they run to the comfortable," all things that the former vice president seems to represent for voters. "How do you make yourself familiar and comfortable to these people?" the host asked. John Oliver Drags Joe Biden Over 'Record Player' Gaffe at Democratic Debate"So I guess I just don't see it the same way, Stephen," Warren replied. "I see this as either, you know, we can hide under the covers, or we can say, no, we get it. The government isn't working for us. Donald Trump is in charge, but things have been broken for a very long time. And instead of hiding, we can actually come together, all of us, fight back and make this the country we want it to be. For me, this is about looking forward." The crowd sounded impressed. Later in their conversation, Colbert attempted to corner Warren into admitting that taxes will have to go up for middle-class households in order to pay for her Medicare-for-All plan. As she kept referring to overall "costs" and saying, "here's the thing," he interrupted her to say, "But here's the thing, I've listened to these answers a few times before and I just want to make a parallel suggestion to you that you might defend the taxes perhaps that you're not mentioning in your sentence: Isn't Medicare-for-All like public school?" "There might be taxes for it, but you certainly save a lot of money sending your kids to school and do you want to live in a world where your kids aren't educated?" Colbert asked. "Do you want to live in a world where your fellow citizens are dying, even if it costs a little bit of money?""I accept your point and I believe in your point. Health care is a basic human right. We fight for basic human rights, and that's Medicare-for-All. Everyone gets covered," Warren said. She proceeded to make her pitch for why her plan is better than keeping private insurance companies, declaring "those who have more will pay more" and "hardworking families will pay less," but did not give a straight answer on middle-class tax increases. Colbert ended the interview by asking Warren if she agrees with President Trump on anything. After a long pause, she replied, "Yes! Yes! He signed my bill into law that is going to bring down the cost of hearing aids for millions of people across this country. I'm in. My guy!" Stephen Colbert Presses Joe Biden on Gaffes: 'Devil Is in the Details'Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Georgia homeowner kills three teens wearing masks in possible 'stand your ground' case Posted: 17 Sep 2019 02:15 PM PDT  The fatal shooting of three teens by a Georgia homeowner this week could be a 'stand your ground' case, the Rockdale County Sheriff says.
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| Moldova Turns to FBI for Help in Investigating $1 Billion Fraud Posted: 18 Sep 2019 08:37 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Moldova requested assistance from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to bring to justice participants in a $1 billion fraud that led to a bailout of three of the nation's banks.Interior Minister Andrei Nastase said he met with senior FBI officials and handed over a letter seeking assistance.The letter "put on the FBI's agenda the theft of the billion, the laundromat of the international mafia and all the other schemes that have ruined the financial and banking system and have deprived our country of much needed resources," he said Wednesday in a post on Facebook. The FBI gave assurances they would help, he said.The former Soviet republic of 3.5 million people was rocked by the 2014 theft that forced the government to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund. A new government led by Prime Minister Maia Sandu took power in June, and the banking sector has been overhauled and sold to foreign investors.\--With assistance from Olga Tanas.To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Eglitis in Riga at aeglitis@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Andrew LangleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| NC high school cheerleaders on probation after posing with Trump 2020 sign Posted: 17 Sep 2019 07:10 AM PDT  A North Carolina high school cheerleading team is on probation after taking a picture in front of a Trump 2020 re-election banner.
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| The Story of the 160 Victories Scored by Iran's F-14 Tomcats Posted: 17 Sep 2019 03:00 PM PDT  Iran's force of American-made F-14 Tomcat interceptors dominated the sky during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988. F-14s reportedly downed more than 160 Iraqi planes.
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| Israeli vote leaves Netanyahu's political future in doubt Posted: 18 Sep 2019 12:31 PM PDT  After a decade of mesmerizing world leaders, subduing his rivals and eking out dramatic election victories, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future is suddenly in doubt. With near-final results from Israel's election on Tuesday, he has been left well short of the parliamentary majority he had sought — not only to continue in power but also to fend off a looming corruption indictment. With over 90% of the votes counted late Wednesday, challenger Benny Gantz's centrist Blue and White party captured 33 seats in the 120-seat parliament, to 32 seats for Netanyahu's conservative Likud.
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| The EU accuses Boris Johnson of only 'pretending' to negotiate a Brexit deal Posted: 18 Sep 2019 02:30 AM PDT  Johnson's negotiators have so far only presented the EU with a draft of the withdrawal agreement with the backstop scrubbed out.
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| France gives more people iodine pills in case of nuclear accident Posted: 17 Sep 2019 10:20 AM PDT  France will soon start distributing radioactivity-blocking iodine pills to an additional 2.2 million people living near the country's 19 nuclear power plants, to be taken in case of accidental radiation leaks, regulators said Tuesday. The ASN nuclear safety authority had announced in June an extension of the safety radius to 20 kilometres (12 miles) of each plant, up from 10 kilometres set in 2016, when some 375,000 households were prescribed the pills. The watchdog said Tuesday that affected residents will receive a letter in the coming days with a voucher to collect stable iodine tablets from pharmacies, as well as information on what to do in case of a nuclear accident.
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| White House, DOJ Reps Meet with Top Republicans on Expanding Background Checks for Gun Sales Posted: 18 Sep 2019 10:22 AM PDT  Representatives from the White House and the Department of Justice met Tuesday with senior Republicans to discuss expanding background checks for the sale of firearms within the parameters of legislation first introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (D., W.V.) and Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).The relevant legislation seeks to expand background-check requirements to include "all advertised commercial sales, including sales at gun shows," according to an idea sheet first obtained by The Daily Caller.Such background checks would be conducted "either through an FFL [Federal Firearm Licensee] or through a newly-created class of licensed transfer agents."White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said that President Trump did not necessarily approve of the plan, despite the fact that White House Director of Legislative Affairs Eric Ueland is among those circulating the idea sheet.The Tuesday meetings were attended by Ueland as well as Attorney General Bill Barr. Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina were also present. There was a planned meeting between Barr and Utah senator Mike Lee, but Barr canceled the meeting.The Manchin-Toomey bill failed to pass last April after it didn't muster enough votes to survive a filibuster. The bill has remained a moderate alternative to more sweeping legislation that would mandate background checks on any and all gun sales. It would require background checks for any commercial sales at gun shows as well as over the Internet. It also expressly prohibits the formation of a national gun registry.
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| Suspect in Detroit serial killings charged in murders of 4 women Posted: 18 Sep 2019 12:44 PM PDT  Social media rumors had been developing since mid-May that there was a serial killer in Detroit, but police repudiated them.
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| Andrew Yang’s Dumb Gimmick Stepped on His Own Important Message Posted: 17 Sep 2019 02:25 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photo by Jayme Gershen/GettyAndrew Yang has been my favorite Democrat to watch this election cycle, partly because he's the candidate I would most like to be friends with. That's why I was so disappointed to see him resort to a cheap stunt during last week's debate. I assumed that having earned his way into the first debate where all the candidates would share the same stage at the same time, Yang would seize this moment to explain the core issue that has propelled his candidacy. In case you missed it (and you wouldn't have seen it during the debate!), Yang's fundamental message is that a lot of working-class Americans have been left behind, and the culprit is automation. This problem, Yang insists, is going to get much more pervasive. Like the Industrial Revolution, it will lead to tremendous dislocation and disruption. To manage this inevitable transformation, Yang proposes a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 a month, an amount specifically chosen to be big enough to mitigate the harm without being so big as to disincentivize work. Indeed, Yang argues that his "freedom dividend" could actually liberate us to pursue our inventions, passions, and dreams. The brilliance here is that Yang frames what might otherwise be seen as a radical progressive idea in language that sounds good to conservative ears. Democrats, Beware of Andrew Yang's Insane Vision for AmericaBut instead of telling this (admittedly longer) story, Yang chose to turn his opening debate statement into a raffle where 10 families will win a "freedom dividend" of $1,000 a month for a year. By turning his big idea into a sort of game, Yang doesn't just skip over the seriousness of a looming automation dystopia—he actually trivializes it. What is more, the idea of giving away money based on luck or need (it's not actually clear how winners will be determined) actually steps on Yang's own messaging. That's because Yang carefully avoids framing UBI as a giveaway (indeed, to qualify for the check, you'd have to opt out of welfare payments). Instead, he sells it as something you've earned—like Social Security—by virtue of being a "citizen of the richest, most advanced country in the world." So why would an obviously smart entrepreneur squander the best chance he might ever have to make his substantive argument to a large TV audience? According to Politico, the idea helped Yang "raise $1 million in the 72 hours since the debate and collect more than 450,000 email addresses from people who entered the online raffle…" Once you view the idea through the prism of list acquisition, rather than traditional message delivery, you begin to see the method to the madness. This, of course, raises legal questions. FEC experts seem to see this as problematic and dubious, though there is a general sense that nothing will be done to stop it. We live in a world where a foreign government providing opposition research to a candidate doesn't necessarily qualify as "a thing of value," and where using campaign funds to ostensibly pay voters can be seen as mere campaign advertising. It also raises a practical question: Where does this end?In recent years, we have seen the proliferation of cloying candidates begging us to "visit my website" or to text such-and-such message to such-and-such number. As far as I can tell, though, this is the first time audiences have been invited to participate by virtue of being given the chance to win cash. And since it has apparently worked, I'm worried that everyone else will get in on the act. That means we can expect to see more elites exploiting their positions of influence and undermining their credibility—all in the service of shameless self-promotion. I, for one, have had enough of that. Want to win a copy of my latest eBook? Sign up for my email newsletter at www.mattklewis.com. Terms and conditions may apply!Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Investors Urge South Africa to Leave Their $163 Billion Savings Posted: 18 Sep 2019 05:08 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's 2.4 trillion rand ($163 billion) savings industry has a request for the ruling party: stop threatening to dictate where funds must invest and get going on projects that pensions can help finance."You can prescribe, but nothing will happen unless you have proper projects," Leon Campher, the chief executive officer of the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa, an industry body of fund managers and insurers, said in an interview in Johannesburg. "The savings industry would gladly invest in infrastructure or developmental projects provided they are properly done."President Cyril Ramaphosa last month echoed the election manifesto of the African National Congress saying a discussion was required to investigate the use of prescribed assets as a tool for fostering economic growth. A lack of detail on how retirement funds could be forced into investing in state-owned companies or government projects has stoked concerns it could leave pensioners poorer if these don't make inflation-beating returns.There has been very little visible progress since Ramaphosa last year announced that the government would create a multi-billion rand infrastructure fund. Banks and even Ramaphosa's envoys appointed to lure investment into the country have complained over a dearth of projects that has led to the near demise of South Africa's construction industry."If it's funding for developmental projects South Africa is after, government would be better off ensuring that the infrastructure initiative proposed by the president in his fiscal stimulus plan a year ago gets going," Campher said.Managers WorriedThe association and banking industry are working with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to flesh out details of an infrastructure initiative, Campher said, adding that DBSA has indicated it could be up and running by the end of this year."The concept is that you have the government pot, the DBSA pot and you have got the savings pot so you can create what is called a blended-finance model," he said. "Recruiting retired and semi-retired technical experts, people with the appropriate skills, to prepare projects will be important for attracting funding."Money managers are worried that "sooner or later" prescribed assets will be implemented, according to the 2019 BEE.conomics survey done for 27four Investment Managers and published on Wednesday. At least 83% of participants from the industry said they consider prescribed assets as threat."Prescription is a clear violation of property rights, because it impairs choice," said Andrew Canter, chief investment officer at Futuregrowth Asset Management in Cape Town, South Africa's biggest specialist fixed-income money manager. "There is ample global evidence that where prescription has been tried it has reduced returns," he added, citing Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa during racial-segration rule as examples."If you tell people how to invest their funds, you are undermining the savings culture and effective asset allocation," Canter said. "It will go to court, no matter what the government proposes. If you let the wolf into the hen house, the wolf will eventually eat the chickens."(Updates with comment from BEE.conomics survey, Futuregrowth starting from third-to-last paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Roxanne Henderson in Johannesburg at rhenderson56@bloomberg.net;Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels, Alastair ReedFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US-Russia nuclear war would kill 34 million people within hours and is increasingly likely, Princeton study concludes Posted: 17 Sep 2019 11:28 AM PDT  More than 90 million people would be killed or injured in a nuclear war between the US and Russia if a conventional conflict went too far, according to a new simulation created by researchers.Such a scenario has become "dramatically" more plausible in the last two years because the two countries have dropped support for arms-control measures, according to a team from Princeton University.
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| Did a Russian-Made Submarine 'Sink' A U.S. Navy Nuclear Attack Sub? Posted: 17 Sep 2019 06:13 AM PDT  Back in 2015, Indian media claimed that one of New Delhi's Russian-built Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarines managed to "sink" a nuclear-powered U.S. Navy Los Angeles-class attack submarine during exercises in October of that year.
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| In leaderless Hong Kong movement, Joshua Wong just 1 voice Posted: 16 Sep 2019 08:02 PM PDT  Overseas, Joshua Wong has emerged as a prominent face of Hong Kong's months-long protests for full democracy. While not diminishing the importance of that role, other protesters say Wong does not speak for what is purposefully a leaderless movement. "Not that nobody cares about what he says, but it's just that Joshua Wong alone cannot represent the whole of Hong Kong," said Sean Au, a 17-year-old student.
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| A damning new report on the 737 Max blames 'inexperienced pilots' and the low-cost airlines that employ them — not Boeing Posted: 18 Sep 2019 08:39 AM PDT  The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide for months after two fatal crashes. A new report suggests that Boeing doesn't deserve all the blame.
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| Lebanon's Hariri suspends work at his TV channel Posted: 18 Sep 2019 07:52 AM PDT  Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced on Wednesday the suspension of Future TV, his ailing mouthpiece whose employees had recently been on strike over unpaid wages. The channel set up by his father Rafiq al-Hariri in 1993 follows several other once-thriving Lebanon-based media outlets into bankruptcy. "It is with a sad heart that I announce today the decision to suspend the work at Future TV and settle the rights of the workers," Hariri's office said in a statement.
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| Frivolous Lawsuits Once Again Threaten the Gun Industry Posted: 18 Sep 2019 03:30 AM PDT  In 2005, a wave of lawsuits threatened to bankrupt the gun industry. These suits were based on — pick your adjective — "creative," "novel," "inventive," and "imaginative" legal theories that rarely held up in court, and they did their damage primarily by forcing gun companies to incur the costs of defending against them. Congress, seeing the problem, stepped in to put a stop to it — or at least tried to — by passing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).A decade and a half later, anti-gun activists have responded with yet more new legal theories, and the Connecticut courts have bought one of them. Some families victimized by the Newtown massacre are being allowed to pursue a wrongful-death claim against Remington, which owns Bushmaster, the company that made the rifle used in the attack.The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to take the case and reverse the Connecticut supreme court's decision. It should, as numerous briefs from gun-rights supporters have argued this month.The problem here traces back to a flurry of legal activity in the 1980s and 1990s. Anti-gun activists faced a conundrum: It's easy enough to file a wrongful-death suit against someone who committed murder with a gun, or to sue a company that sold a defective gun, or to go after a gun store that knowingly sold a gun to a criminal. But the activists didn't just want to punish those who broke the existing rules; they thought the rules were too lax, and they'd had little success getting legislatures to change them.So they sued gun companies for following the rules, spinning elaborate theories about why different, stricter rules should apply instead. Those companies were creating a "public nuisance." They were "oversupplying" guns to high-crime neighborhoods, or continuing to send guns to stores that had had too many crimes traced back to them, or making products that appealed to the wrong sorts of people. Never mind how bizarre it is to hold a company liable for the criminal misuse of its legal products; never mind that state and federal governments had already written detailed laws about which guns were legal to sell and how gun sales were to take place; never mind that the targeted companies were following the prescribed process of dealer licenses and background checks; never mind that the alleged "bad apple" gun stores were licensed by the federal government to continue selling guns. If legislatures wouldn't draw the lines the way the activists wanted, maybe judges and juries would instead.Practically speaking, the problem with these suits was not that they had much chance of succeeding on the merits. The plaintiffs almost never won. Rather, the suits threatened to drown the industry in a sea of legal costs. Late in the Clinton administration, Andrew Cuomo, who was organizing lawsuits by federally funded housing authorities as the secretary of housing and urban development, told gunmakers they'd suffer "death by a thousand cuts" if they didn't give in to the gun-control lobby's demands. Some gunmakers did in fact go bankrupt.So Congress decided to nip these suits in the bud. Under the PLCAA, there would be no more lengthy court proceedings: Whenever a court was asked to find a gun company liable simply because someone else had misused its products, the lawsuit would be unceremoniously tossed out. Contrary to some of the lies about the law spread in the media, it didn't touch legitimate lawsuits. You can still sue gun companies if they sell defective products or break the law. Indeed, gun-rights supporters often cheer such lawsuits.Eventually, though, activists came up with creative theories as to why the law against creative theories didn't apply.The case against Remington alleges that the marketing of the gun used in the Newtown massacre violated the Connecticut Uniform Trade Protection Act, which prohibits "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce." This is relevant because the PLCAA allows lawsuits when a gun company "knowingly violated a State or Federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing of the product" and the violation was a "proximate cause" of the harm at issue.There are several layers of problems here.For one thing, it's not clear that a generic law like Connecticut's is "applicable" to guns in the relevant sense. (The word can mean "capable of being applied" or "specifically applied.") As 22 members of the House note in their brief, two different appeals courts have interpreted the word narrowly, and Congress clearly meant to bar lawsuits based on "remote theories" tying marketing to criminal acts.Nor is it easy to see how Bushmaster violated the statute at all, much less knowingly violated it. Some of Bushmaster's ads were cringeworthy; the "CONSIDER YOUR MAN CARD REISSUED" one is the most famous example. But it's a hell of a stretch to say that to run such an ad is to knowingly engage in an "unfair or deceptive act or practice." And as a group of Second Amendment scholars explain in another brief, the advertising themes decried in the lawsuit — military imagery, defense against adversaries — "have necessarily been common in American arms culture."Yet as the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) notes, the Connecticut supreme court found that "the plaintiffs could survive a motion to dismiss by simply alleging that the defendant[s] . . . had marketed their products in a manner that encouraged their use for offensive assault missions."The idea that the gun's marketing directly contributed to the massacre is absurd as well. There is no evidence the shooter ever saw any Bushmaster ads, and he did not even buy the gun himself; he stole it from his mother. This, too, should protect Remington under the PLCAA.Put simply, if a dubious allegation that a company violated a generic statute is enough to punch through the protections of the PLCAA, the PLCAA won't mean much at all. As the NSSF argues, an attorney "can easily craft an allegation of 'unfair' conduct sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss under modern pleading standards. And nearly all states have statutes that prohibit 'unfair' trade practices in language as broad and as vague as the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act."If the PLCAA doesn't mean much, the Second Amendment itself won't mean much, either. Just as they did last time around, anti-gun activists will be free to flood the courts with lawsuits that have little chance of success but are guaranteed to rack up massive legal fees capable of bankrupting gun companies. And the people can't keep and bear arms if businesses can't make and sell them.The Supreme Court needs to take this case — and then nuke it into oblivion.
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| View Every Angle of the 2020 Zero SR/F Electric Motorcycle Posted: 18 Sep 2019 10:59 AM PDT |
| Trial in 'heinous' gang-related murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee begins in Chicago Posted: 17 Sep 2019 03:37 PM PDT  Trial of Dwright Boone-Doty and Corey Morgan, charged with the November 2015 attack on 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee, began Tuesday in Chicago.
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| For mayors, politics isn't a blood sport: Why we need Pete Buttigieg in the White House Posted: 18 Sep 2019 05:03 AM PDT  Pete Buttigieg is a role model to mayors. We proudly endorse him from heartland towns, coastal cities and suburban communities across this country.
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| It's National Cheeseburger Day: Here are some deals offered by SoCal restaurants Posted: 18 Sep 2019 01:39 PM PDT  It's National Cheeseburger Day and plenty of local restaurants are offering deals to help you celebrate right.
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